


Silently and Perceptibly

by Nostawyn



Series: Silently and Perceptibly [1]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: BAMF!Martin, Gen, Martin's made-up family, Simon's a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-14
Updated: 2012-02-14
Packaged: 2017-10-31 03:37:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/339462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nostawyn/pseuds/Nostawyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin gets a phone call from his sister-in-law and a chance to be brave. Warning for domestic violence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silently and Perceptibly

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this prompt: I want to see Martin being brave. He doesn't have to be 'witty comeback in the face of death' kind of brave, or a BAMF saving children from a burning building, just when given a choice, taking the harder, but braver option of the two. 
> 
> The title is from this quote: "Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently and perceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak; and last some crisis shows what we have become." -Brook Foss Wescott

Martin had always known that Simon wasn't exactly a nice guy. If he were going to be completely honest, he would admit that he had always suspected Simon of being abusive towards his wife. After all, Simon had always had a violent temper, and he was so controlling when it came to Jen and the kids. He had never, however, thought for one second that Simon would hit his children.

Needless to say, the teary phone call from Jen had shaken Martin a little. 'Come get us, Martin, please,' she had begged, 'While Simon's away on business.'

He had surprised even himself when he got in the van, used the money he'd been saving for a new phone on petrol, and drove to Bristol to rescue his sister-in-law and her children from his own brother. He put their bags in the back of the van as Jen got the kids settled in the back seat. They were terrified, poor dears, and utterly confused as to why Uncle Martin had come in his smelly old van to take them away in the middle of the night.

The drive back to Fitton was uncomfortably silent. Martin wanted to turn on the radio, but the kids were asleep and he didn't want to wake them.

"You know there's not much room at mine, don't you?" Martin whispered. "You're all welcome to take the bed, but... it's just a shared student house."

"I know. We won't stay for long, just until... until I figure out a few legalities, you know."

Martin nodded. Restraining orders, no doubt. And divorce papers, and petitions for custody and money and... God, poor Jen's entire life was in shambles right now. Especially if her first choice of savior was her abusive husband's brother who lived in a cramped attic in shitty student housing. "You're welcome for as long as you need to stay. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't expecting a guest suite or anything."

"I couldn't ask for more than you've already done for us," Jen replied sincerely.

Martin called Carolyn the next day and told her that he couldn't come in for standby. She grumbled something about how she would have never agreed to pay him if she'd known he'd start being useless.

"Look, it's a family emergency, Carolyn. I really can't come in right now. I'll do my best to be there later, but it probably won't be until tomorrow."

She hung up on him. He just sighed and called his landlord to tell him what was going on.

"I know that you're not supposed to have guests that stay for more than three days, but I don't know that they'll have somewhere to go, and--"

"Martin, calm down," the landlord soothed. "It's absolutely fine. You've never been late on your rent and I know you fix the electrics without asking for pay or a reduction. I'm hardly going to evict you for taking care of your family."

"Thank you so much."

Even Martin's flatmates were extremely understanding, though they did seem a little unhappy about having to add three more people to the bathroom schedule. Still, Martin considered everything settled and was about to call Carolyn and ask if she wanted him to bother coming in for the last two hours when the pounding on the door started.

"Martin, you little shit! Open the door!"

Martin spared a thought to be thankful that most of his housemates were out.

"Jen, take the kids to the attic, lock the door, and hide under the bed. Ron, go to your room, lock the door, and phone the police, please."

"I can help you deal with--"

"Now, please, Ron."

Everyone nodded and scurried up the stairs. Martin counted to a hundred before going to the door.

"Simon, what are doing here?" Martin hoped that his feigned surprise fooled Simon a little.

"Don't give me that crap! I know they're here, Martin! Where are they?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Jen and the kids," Simon snarled, shoving Martin and storming into the house. "One of the neighbors remembered seeing your van at my house last night."

"They must have made a mistake. I had a flight last night. I didn't get back until this morning."

"You're a terrible liar," Simon snapped, "I always thought she might be cheating on me, you know, but I never would have thought she could be so pathetic as to go for you."

That actually startled a laugh out of Martin. "Simon, I'm gay. I have a boyfriend called--"

Simon hit him. "Don't lie to me, you worthless little shit! Why else would she go to you? And don't tell me she didn't, because her shoes are by the door!"

Martin wanted to tell Simon that Jen had come to him because Simon was an evil, evil man who had forced her to alienate all of her friends and family. And if, as Simon had always insisted, Simon was everything Martin could never be, then that made Martin a good man. Martin would take that, even if it meant that he was a failure.

What came out of his mouth was, "I'm really not sleeping with your wife."

"Then why would she come to you?"

"Because I'm not afraid of you." It wasn't what Martin had planned on saying, and it wasn't quite true, but it was close enough.

"What?"

"I don't have anything that you can take away anymore. Not anything irreplaceable, at least. And you don't have anything that you can offer me, either."

"Is that so?" It was an obvious threat, but it was keeping Simon in the kitchen and away from the stairs, so Martin could handle it.

"Yeah. That's so."

"Oh, really? What about your boyfriend? What if I tell him all your embarrassing little secrets, hmm? What if I let him in on what a pathetic, miserable failure you are? I bet he'd leave you."

"I bet he wouldn't," Martin countered. "Because he knows what a pathetic, miserable failure I am and he loves me anyway. There's nothing you could tell him that would be worse than what he already knows. If he leaves me, it'll be because he got sick of me on his own, regardless of any input from you."

And that, Martin realised, was the real truth, sad as it might seem. Martin hadn't acquired a newfound confidence so much as come to terms with the fact that he was always going to be himself and might as well embrace it. Or was that confidence? Martin couldn't be sure; he'd have to ask someone.

Whatever Simon had to say to that was drowned out by the sound of a police siren in the drive.

That night, Martin lay awake on the sofa long after everyone else was asleep. Tomorrow, he would explain everything to Carolyn and ask Douglas what exactly qualified as confidence. Tonight, he was going to lie awake crying and jumping at every noise, if only so that Jen and the kids didn't have to.


End file.
